


Our First Christmas (work safe version)

by Moonfireflight



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, Depression, Fluff, Gen, Post secret ending, The Choi family's first Christmas, teen and up for some flirty comments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 00:56:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13283517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonfireflight/pseuds/Moonfireflight
Summary: (This is almost identical to the NSFW version, just w/out the NSFW) This story takes place during the first Christmas after the secret endings for Mystic Messenger. You are engaged to Seven and living with him and his brother, and convinced them to let you plan an evening of Christmas magic. It's 100% cuteness and fluff. Enjoy!





	Our First Christmas (work safe version)

You stood back and admired your work while wiping sweat from your brow. Artificial Christmas tree? Check. Strings of fairy lights draped around the walls? Check. Mistletoe conveniently hung above your fiancé’s computer chair? Check. You’d dragged a small box of ornaments from your childhood out of storage as well, and left it sitting next to the tree. Those could wait for later. Decorating the tree… well, when you were growing up, it was always a family event. 

It had taken some doing to convince Saeyoung to let you do this. Neither he nor his brother had any good memories of Christmas, beyond the few stolen moments you and Saeyoung had spent together the year before. This sort of vision of the holidays- Family, festive decorations, thoughtful gifts…He had called it “made for TV movie garbage.” A contrived holiday used to pedal overpriced things to gullible people. A fiction. But, you were determined to help him, and his brother, create new memories. 

You had finally gotten him to agree to let you make the bunker festive with a few conditions. You’d only use decorations you already had (well, except for one light string because some of yours were getting old) and that if he didn’t enjoy it, you wouldn’t push for it again in the future. That seemed fair enough. You were still a bit surprised that after the romantic evening you’d spent together last year that he’d be so hesitant, but you also knew his wounds were deep. So, you decorated and baked, humming your favorite holiday tunes, while Saeran worked at his computer station, stealing an occasional glance at what you were doing. He was more enthusiastic about the idea of you sprinkling Christmas throughout your shared home than Saeyoung had been. By enthusiastic, you meant he was willing to leave his bedroom this morning. 

***

Your fiancé had awoken in a sullen mood. Between trying to force himself into a regular sleeping routine, and his ongoing struggles with depression, some of his mornings were like this. All you could do was do your best to be sweet and supportive, but give him space when he needed it. You woke up full of energy, ready to start the day, whereas he didn’t even roll over to face you when you sat up suddenly and stretched with a loud yawn. He grunted when you snuggled up against him, reveling in his warmth, and trying your best to share some of yours with him as well. He was silent, but it was a silence filled with mutual understanding. 

You kept your voice gentle and willed as much love into your tone as you could. “Good morning, my dearheart. I’m going to get up and start getting things ready for today, but if you need or want anything at all, I’ll just be a text or a call away. Did you want me to bring you breakfast?”

He pulled your arm around him tighter and sighed. “Thank you. I’m ok. Not hungry yet. I left my laptop in here, right?” His voice was low and a little gravelly from sleep.

You hugged him tighter, kissing his bright red hair, then sat up and looked around your shared bedroom. It was easy to spot his laptop with its orange and red diagonal stripes, standing out clearly among the rest of the room’s décor. “It’s here, yeah. On the floor. The charger is there too, so no worries.” 

“Good. Then I can get some more work done for Jumin today. I’m not behind or anything, but I don’t want to fall behind.” 

“Is he seriously having you work during Christmas? That man, I swear…” You appreciated everything he’s done for the two of you, but he was almost as much of a taskmaster as Saeyoung’s former bosses. The work was infinitely safer though. 

“No,” he explained. “I requested the extra work. He was actually against it.” 

You understood. He’d wanted a distraction. Something to keep him busy, and focused on something other than the holiday and his memories of past Christmas Eves. Having heard stories about Santa, and staying up late with his brother, hoping against hope that they would be given gifts, and further convinced every year that they were born bad, undeserving. “You’re a good man for helping him out so much, and I’m proud of the work you do.” You hugged his blanket-wrapped form again and kissed his cheek. “I’m going to go get started, but, again, if you need anything, just message me. Or yell.” 

“I will. Thanks.” Right as you got to the door, he called out to you. “Thank you for understanding and putting up with me. I love you.” 

You turned and said “Loving you is never a chore. It’s as easy as breathing.” You blew him a kiss before heading out to the living room to start your day. 

***  
You wanted to keep the evening simple, and planned to have takeout for dinner. However, baked goods were non-negotiable. The cookies were already finished and cooling on the counter, simple gingerbread stars. You were mixing up the whipped cream to finish up the sponge cake when you felt strong arms wrap around your midsection. You squeaked when you felt Saeyoung’s lips at your ear, as he whispered, “what kind of magic are you making in here?” He rested his chin on your shoulder and leaned his head against yours. You carefully set down the bowl and whisk before leaning back into his embrace, sighing happily. You took it as a sign that he was feeling better. 

“I’m making whipped cream for the Christmas cake. Want to try some?” You dipped a finger into the fluffy frosting and brought it up close to his mouth. 

“Mmm, I think so,” he hummed. He wrapped his lips around your finger, swirling his tongue around the digit and making pleased sounds. “Okay, you’re starting to sell me on this whole Christmas thing. If there are more delicious and sweet things to be had, I could get used to this.” It was clear from his tone that he wasn’t just talking about cake and cookies. He definitely sounded more like his usual self. 

You grinned and twisted around to face him, whispering, “that I can promise you. But first, we have dinner, dessert, and presents.”

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You put a lot of thought into this, didn’t you?” 

“I just…” You paused, feeling a little unsure of yourself. What if you just ended up annoying the two of them and they never wanted to celebrate the holiday again? “I just wanted to make things simple but perfect tonight, and hopefully give you both good memories of the holiday. I know it doesn’t undo everything you’ve both been through but…”

Saeyoung cut you off with a kiss, still tasting faintly of frosting. It was brief but left you feeling wobbly and warm. He looked into your eyes, his gentle expression conveying the sincerity of his words. “Thank you. I know I’ve been hard to deal with over the last few days. Yet here you are, full of light and joy. You always amaze me. I can’t thank you enough for bringing your light into my life.” You both reached for each other at the same time, embracing. Everything felt right in the world as you rested your head against his shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around him. 

The beeping of the oven timer interrupted your moment, and you reluctantly let go of Saeyoung. He didn’t let go of you, though. “Nooo, the cake will burn,” you pleaded. He took a few steps back, trying to drag you out of the kitchen with him. You started giggling, which made it harder to make your case against him. “If there’s no cake, then I’ll just have to throw away the whipped cream, I guess!” 

He let go of you and flew into action, putting on a pair of cat paw oven mitts. “Quick! Open the oven, and I, the Defender of Justice and Cakes, will rescue this confectionary from its fiery fate!” 

The cake was thusly rescued and left to cool on the counter next to the cookies. With a wink, you proclaimed, “thank you, valiant hero! How can I ever repay you?” 

Saeyoung laughed dramatically. “Oh ho ho! The Defender of Justice and Cakes requires no repayment. I simply helped out of the kindness of my heart. Though kisses are always welcome!”

You grinned and stuck your tongue out at him. “But that’s what put the cake in peril in the first place!” 

He leaned against the wall casually and declared, “ah, but it’s safe now. The danger has passed. You are free to kiss me all you want now.” 

“Ooh, that would take a long time. For now, would you be willing to help me decorate the tree while the cake is cooling? When I was a kid, we always did it as a family thing. I’d love it if Saeran joined us too.” 

“Let’s do it!” Then his voice dipped into a deep and teasing tone that always left you flustered. “I’ll hold you to that promise of kisses later. Mwahaha!”

You were beaming as you headed out to the living room together. Saeyoung was about to call out to his brother, but you put a hand on his shoulder and put your finger to your lips, asking him to wait. You had a feeling that Saeran wouldn’t react well to… whatever he was going to say. Instead, you padded over to his computer station. 

This was the first time you’d been this close to his desk, and you already felt like you were intruding. He watched you warily, but you could see something more in his expression. Was it curiosity? You held out a hand. “Saeran. I wanted you to be part of tonight’s celebration too if it’s OK? I would dearly love it if we could decorate the tree as a family tonight. Then we can enjoy cake and cookies while we open presents. Would you join us?” 

Several expressions flickered across his face. Even after months living under the same roof, you could count on one hand the number of times the two of you had made eye contact. Saeran’s eyes were such an odd shade of almost seafoam green, but it was very striking. His hair was mostly back to its natural red, just a few shades off from that of his twin’s. You were just about to apologize for bothering him when he finally answered with a bland “okay.” He stood up and motioned for you to get out of the way, so you could all convene in the living room. 

“Thank you. Both of you.” You meant it. You were grateful to have a family to share the holiday with again and so glad for the chance to try to bring joy to them as well. 

Saeyoung stood looking at the tangled mess of lights and tinsel sitting atop the box of decorations and turned to you. “Alright, Captain 606. How do we complete Operation Christmas Tree?” 

You wrestled with the tangled mess for a few moments before you successfully retrieved two strings of multi-colored lights, and connected them. “Okay, troops!” At your peripheral, you saw Saeran roll his eyes. “First, the lights.” You tossed the end with the plug to Saeyoung, who plugged it into a nearby surge protector. “Please leave that powered off for now if you don’t mind,” you directed. Then you led the way by stringing them along the tree in an upward spiral. When you could no longer reach any higher, you offered the rest of it to Saeran. He took the lights from you and looked up at the tree for a moment, before practically throwing the rest of it at the tree. You were getting ready to complain, but you saw that he’d managed to wrap it around the rest of the tree just as you’d hoped for. You filed away the thought “Saeran apparently has Indiana Jones-like whip skills” into the “let’s never think about that again” drawer in your mind. “T-thank you, Saeran. That’s perfect.”

“Okay, next will be the tinsel. We’ll wrap it around the tree the other way around. Saeyoung?” You offered him the mostly untangled silver strand of tinsel and laughed as he ran around the tree in circles, winding the tinsel strand up the tree beautifully. Through your laughter, you could swear you heard him making airplane noises at one point. 

“Thank you, both! Now, we can just put as many ornaments as we feel like on the tree. Just please be careful with them, as some of these are from my childhood, and I don’t have a lot of things left from then.” The three of you all descended upon the box, and each picked an ornament. Saeran had picked one with a real preserved ice cream cone and a glittery scoop of foam ice cream. Saeyoung picked out a blue glass sphere dotted with glimmering stars. You picked one that you had made as a child. Well, you’d painted your name and the date on it anyway. It reminded you of messy Christmas craft days in elementary school. Glue, glitter, and popsicle sticks. 

Your little family mostly did the work in silence, though you found yourself occasionally humming holiday tunes as they came to mind. When you did, Saeyoung smiled sweetly at you, sometimes joining in with the ones he knew. Saeran stayed quiet, but he looked peaceful while selecting ornaments, admiring them, and looking for the perfect spot to hang them. Phew. So far, so good. 

“I’ll be back in a moment. I want to finish putting together the cake and a few other things. You can keep decorating if you want, but the tree already looks absolutely beautiful.” You excused yourself and headed to the kitchen to finish preparing for the evening. 

When you returned, Saeran was holding up the sparkling star tree topper, and looking around in mild frustration. You asked if everything was OK, and Saeran muttered, “I can’t reach the top of the tree, but if I try to stand on one of the computer chairs I’ll probably break my neck.” 

“A-ah yeah, no. Please don’t do that. Don’t we have a stool or step ladder?” You didn’t remember seeing anything like that around the bunker, but you hadn’t been in every corner of it. 

“Thankfully for you, God Seven is here to save the day,” your fiancé declared. He pulled out his cellphone and said, “wait for it…” A faint buzzing sound started up somewhere in another room and drew closer. A small quadcopter drone with claws like a UFO catcher sailed into view, and hovered over Saeran’s head, clicking its claws impatiently. “Saeran, please hand the nice drone our star, if you would.” 

He eyed the quadcopter and its appendages suspiciously for a moment before holding the star up between his thumb and index finger. The drone moved with perfect precision and grabbed the star in its little claws, then sailed up above the tree. You glanced at Saeyoung and smiled upon seeing his brow furrowed in concentration, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, as he controlled the bot from his phone. You marveled as the star was placed just so. The drone played a tiny fanfare after completing its work, and even Saeran barked out a quiet laugh at the scene while you clapped enthusiastically. “That was amazing, God Seven! Okay, the last step is to turn on the lights! Ready?” 

The twins replied with “yep!” and “sure.” You turned the living room’s lights down low to set the stage, then flipped the switch on the surge protector, filling the room with twinkling lights in a rainbow of colors. You heard two distinct, yet equally impressed “oooh”s, and felt your cheeks aching from the intensity of your smile. The sound warmed your heart like nothing else. You’d done it. Operation Christmas Tree was a success. 

“It’s magnificent,” you gushed with awe. “Thank you both so much for helping me. I haven’t had a Christmas tree like this myself in years, if ever.” Both redheads were still gazing at the tree, seemingly stunned into silence. “I’m going to finish up with the cake. Dinner should be here any minute, too.” With that, you excused yourself to the kitchen. Just before you entered, you turned around for one more look at the peaceful scene before the tree and happened to catch Saeyoung pulling his brother into a hug. A hug that, for the first time that you had seen, was returned in full. 

You leaned against the kitchen counter, pressing your hand to your mouth, trying to slow your breathing and stem the impending flood of emotions, caught somewhere between laughter and sobbing. All of your hopes for the evening paled in comparison to this moment. 

You jumped a little when the gate announced that someone had arrived, and secretly cursed the deliveryman’s timing. Snapped out of your reverie, you sighed and set to slicing the cake in half and assembling the rest of it, while Saeyoung handled the delivery of dinner. 

Once you all had your fill, you turned the main lights down again so that the room was back to a proper holiday mood. You brought out the two gifts you’d carefully wrapped earlier and placed them under the tree. Beckoning the twins to join you on the floor, you made sure everyone was as cozy as possible with blankets you’d dragged out to the living room and steaming mugs of hot chocolate. 

Another part of the agreement you’d made with Saeyoung was a promise that each person would only have one gift to open. Saeyoung bought you a gift, and you had one for him in return, and the two of you had gone in together on a gift for Saeran. Neither of you had wanted to pressure him into gift shopping, and it had just never come up in conversation.

You handed an obviously-clothing-box-sized package to Saeyoung. He pondered it for a moment, and asked, “should I tear into the wrapping paper or take my time with it?” 

“It’s up to you! Whichever you would enjoy most!” He winked at you, making you blush when you realized there was another meaning to his words, and that you’d fallen right into his trap with your response. “Argh, just open it!”

He carefully pulled at one end of the green ribbon, undoing the bow you’d tied with it, and set the ribbon to the side. Then he tore into the wrapping and opened the box to reveal black and pink plush fake fur. He grinned as he held up the object to reveal a black cat hooded onesie with pink accents and paw pads. “This. Is. AMAZING! Oh, I’m so wearing this tonight,” 

“I’m glad you like it, but you aren’t wearing it tonight.” 

He smirked at you and held up the green ribbon. “Well, maybe someone will end up wearing this instead later.” 

Saeran made a distressed noise, but you just caught the tail end of a grin before he turned away. 

“Honey? What have I told you about traumatizing your brother?”

Saeyoung placed a finger on his chin in mock thoughtfulness and replied, “that it’s hilarious?”

You snorted and grabbed the now empty box, and whacked him playfully on the shoulder with it, causing Saeran to let out a real laugh at last. “Thanks,” he said to you with a smile. 

“On that note, it’s time for you to open your gift, Saeran!” His smile retreated again, and he looked mildly panicked instead. 

“But I didn’t get either of you anything.” 

“Saeran,“ you consoled. “Our rule was one gift per person. Don’t worry about it.”

Saeyoung coughed slightly. “I wouldn’t blame you if you think I’m joking when I say this, but having the two of you here as my… as my family, is the best gift I could ever ask for. I mean it. That’s honestly all I need. I still have enough money to buy any stupid thing I want, but none of that matters compared to this.” His eyes were shining in the warm light of the room, unshed tears showing the sincerity of his words. You tenderly placed a hand on his knee and beamed at him, yourself on the verge of tears.

Saeran kept his gaze down, his hands worrying at his unfinished mug of cocoa. Even sitting this close to him, you almost didn’t hear his words. “I’m… glad to have a family too.” 

Saeyoung gasped and nearly flattened you while trying to drag his blanket wrapped form closer to his brother, reaching out to grasp his hand. A teardrop rolled down his cheek, catching the rainbow of light from the Christmas tree. 

“Don’t smother her, idiot,” Saeran muttered while trying to wrench his hand free from his brother. He was openly smiling now, and you giggled while trapped in your blanket heap. Again, you thrilled at how much better tonight was going than you’d dared to hope. Once you were able to sit up, you handed the, now slightly rumpled, package to Saeran. 

He took it from you so carefully, reverently. Was it the first gift he’d ever received? Surely not. He removed the wrapping paper carefully and stared at the card within. It was a gift card for the nearby mall for a substantial amount. He didn’t seem to be sure what to make of it. 

“It’s so you can buy some of your own things and your own clothing. We wanted to give you a way to start having some agency in your life,” you explained. “We’ll take you there any time you want. It can be both of us or just one of us to go with you. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Saeran held the card to his chest and nodded. “Okay. I’d like that. Wearing hand-me-downs all the time sucks. Uh, not that I’m not… grateful. You can both stop staring at me with those weird smiles now.” 

You and Saeyoung both apologized at once, though you added “just let me know when you want to go. I’ll do everything I can to make sure it’s not stressful.”

Saeyoung chimed in, “and there will be ice cream! Well, that leaves just one more gift for tonight.” He reached under the tree and behind the trunk to pull out a small wrapped box. You couldn’t help but guess that it might contain jewelry. “This is for you, my light,” he said while placing the box in your waiting hands. 

Even after the months, you’d been together he still managed to make you blush and cause your heart to race with the smallest things. His sincere smile and his hands covering yours nearly sent you into space. You caught your breath and turned the little package this way and that, admiring the precise wrapping job, and grinning at the paper he had chosen – You could just make out the phrase “Meowy Christmas” winding around the box. You opened it so carefully, wanting to preserve everything you could from this night. Inside the wrapper was a shiny white cardboard box with a lid. While you weren’t big on fancy jewelry, you couldn’t help but feel excited as you withdrew the dark object within to get a better look at it. It was a pendant made from a cobalt blue glass sphere that held within it a glimmering galaxy in three dimensions. You turned it this way and that, marveling at the way the lights from the tree danced upon each miniscule star. “It’s beautiful,” you whispered. 

“You are my whole universe,” he murmured reverently as he caught one of your hands in his. “Your radiant breaths become the Milky Way.” You’d lost count of how many times you’d been on the verge of crying tears of joy through this miraculous night, but at last those tears began to fall, motes of captured rainbow light trailing down your cheeks. He used his free hand to wipe your tears tenderly, then held your clasped hand up to his face, brushing it with his lips it and nuzzling into it. 

Saeran cleared his throat sharply and stood up. “Thank you again. For Christmas, and the gift. Erm, is the cake ready?” 

You shook your head briefly to pull your focus away from your rapport with Saeyoung. “Oh. Oh yes! It is. I’ll bring some out for everyone!”

Saeran held up a finger to stop you. “Don’t worry about it. This is more… well, everything, than I’m used to. I’m going to get a slice, and head to my room for the night.”

“I understand entirely. I hope you like it. Sleep well, and Merry Christmas!” 

Saeyoung repeated your sentiment. “Merry Christmas, brother.”

“Yeah. Merry Christmas,” Saeran replied. It sounded like he was trying to sound casual, but his voice was rough with emotion. He retreated to the kitchen, and you let him go without further comment. 

You scooted over to lean shoulder to shoulder with Saeyoung, and he pawed through the blankets until he could find your hand again. His fingers entwined with yours, as he ran his thumb over your knuckles and the back of your hand in slow figure-eights, matching the symbol for infinity engraved on the inside of your engagement rings. You huddled together in serene silence until Saeran returned to his room and closed the door. 

Once you were alone in the living room, Saeyoung gathered you up in his arms and pulled you into a deep, loving kiss. Your heart skipped a beat, the sudden intensity of it taking you by surprise. You melted into his embrace, awash in the tides of his emotions. He held you so tenderly, hands splayed against your back, warm and strong. Your lips danced together, slowly, softly, dreamlike. Minutes passed like this, the outside world fading to nothing around you, silent words of love passing between the two of you. His hands moved to cup your cheeks, and he broke the kiss to say, solemnly, “thank you.” He stood up and held out his hand to help you up as well. 

The two of you stood hand in hand, looking out at the living room. “I’m glad you convinced me to give this a try. It’s beautiful. It shines almost as brightly as you do. And seeing Saeran smile…” he trailed off, tearing up slightly. “You performed a miracle tonight, you know? I’m officially a convert thanks to your magic. I’m already looking forward to next Christmas!” 

You kissed him on the nose, smiling at the love of your life. “We still have cake to enjoy tonight, as well!” 

“Aaaah, the cake! How did I forget!? Let’s go, Agent 606- We still have more work to do!” With that, he grabbed your hand and the two of you giggled as you headed towards the kitchen to enjoy dessert together.


End file.
